The BEST BAD INFLUENCE
In January 1958, Danny & The Juniors released "Rock & Roll is Here To Stay", and how that turned out to be true, but by late 1958, Rock & Roll was "on the wane", as Buddy Holly put it. Elvis was in the Army, Little Richard was in the Ministry, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens & The Big Bopper died in a plane crash in early 59, Chuck Berry was in Prison and by spring 1960, Eddie Cochran had died in a car crash in Chippenham, England. So it wasn't looking too rosy. As popular music edged into the early 60s, Rock & Roll per se, was all but gone, with the music charts awash with more songs with string sections or orchestral features or surreal puppet songs! Perhaps less of a pollutant to young minds ? But, by 1962/3, Rock & Roll most certainly came back, ignited by the young folks who had watched all those American Rock & Rollers on shows like "Sunday Night At The Palladium". Paul McCartney/John Lennon had seen Buddy Holly & The Crickets on that show, as millions did, and apparently at that time in 1958, guitar sales went through the roof in the UK and a new generation of young musicians were inspired. Hank Marvin (The Shadows) was so mesmerised by Buddy Holly's guitar, he embraced that sound when Cliff Richard bought him a brand new Candy Apple Red Fender Stratocaster. And Hank in turn, influenced a whole new generation of guitarists.
We caught up with Nyall, Mark & Alexander, as they're preparing and looking forward to get back to gigging and performing on the live scene in Scotland and beyond.
Q) I think it's great young people now still embrace the early Rock & Roll pioneers. Individually, what got you into Rock & Roll, which artists/bands are your favs ?
"We all got into rock n roll much in the same way, Alexander's dad. We all had the idea to be in a band but we didn’t know what kind of music to play. We were always being driven to the studio by Alexander's dad who would have rockabilly and rock n roll tunes on and we eventually decided to try our hand at it and the love for the genre only grew from there. We all have personally unique tastes in the genre. Alexander (guitarist/lead vocals) is very much into the classic rock n roll legends like Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, and Bill Haley. Nyall (drums/backing vocals) is more into the Psychobilly and Horror Punk side of it, with his main influences being The Meteors, The Cramps, and more modern Psychobilly bands like Kings Of Hong Kong. Mark (upright bass) has by the far the most eclectic taste of the band, reaching from every area of rock n roll to bring a sound only he could bring to the double bass. This being said, we all share a love for all rockabilly and the band that really got us into it, Stray Cats."
Q) How did you get together and where did the name come from ?
"Alexander and Nyall were friends from secondary school who bonded over playing music. They were in another band (remaining unnamed here for dignity reasons) but left shortly after joining to form their own. Eventually, Alexander and Nyall took part in a local youth event called Band Factory where they met Mark and instantly clicked with him. After the event was over, Mark joined the band and that was that.
The band’s name actually comes from an episode of SpongeBob where Mr SquarePants calls Patrick ‘the best bad influence ever’. We just liked that and went with it."
Fast forward through every decade, Rock & Roll did indeed stay, with each new generation of musicians/bands, influencing the next era of music. It's now 2022 and it's great to see young musicians keep that early Rock & Roll flame alive, with the same format, music and spirit still being expressed, which Scottish Rockabilly/Rock & Roll combo "The Best Bad Influence" do without any reservation and certainly Rock It wherever they perform.
video by Rober Carswell
Photo of the lads courtesy of Buskers of Glasgow
Q) What music inspired you to learn instruments and what inspires you now ?
"We're all inspired by very different things. Mark finds it best to follow whatever has the coolest sounding bassline at the time, always aiming to learn or create something new. Alexander started out by being inspired by Stray Cats and their unique take on the rockabilly sound, but as he's progressed in his career, more retro artists from the 50's are what drive his creativity. Nyall just likes sounds and likes making them even more. Collectively we're inspired by the process of writing songs and bringing the sound of ye olde days into a modern setting."
Q) What is it about the early Rock & Roll period which appeals to you ?
"Initially, what appeals to a lot of people about the 50's isn't the sound, but the aesthetics. The sights of Cadillacs and Buicks drag racing down empty roads, the clothes that for some reason just look cooler than everything right now, and the appeal of being nostalgic for a time that we never got the chance to experience. The music itself then reflects that, with songs being simple and easy to follow, with most lyrics being confined to dancing, racing, fighting, being in love, being broken up with etc. Simple stuff that appeals to the 50's teen in you. It's all really care-free and that's something that we're all missing in 2022."
Q) If you could perform with any Rock & Roll/Rockabilly legend, who would it be and why ?
"We all have our own rock n roll legend we wanna meet. Mark's particularly into Johnny Burnette for his unique sounding rockabilly twang. He just had something different at the time and it's definitely still not changed that he is interesting in the world of rockabilly. Nyall would really have liked to play alongside Big Mama Thornton. She's quite honestly underrated as being one of the originators of what we now call rock n roll and her story is so moving he could sit and listen to her for days. Alexander wants to go back and play alongside Gene Vincent & his Blue Caps so that he could personally learn all their guitar parts from Cliff Gallup himself and just be able to see them in action."
Q) What modern bands/artists are you into ?
"We're all really into the same modern rockabilly artists with a few divergences. Darrel Higham has to be up there as one of the most listened to right now, but there's also the likes of The John Lindberg Trio, Peter & The Wolves, and JD Mcpherson. Modern non-rockabilly bands we're into are as wide and eclectic as you can imagine, from Doja Cat (Nyall) to Black Midi (Mark)."
Q) Any plans for an album/EP and for 2022 in general ?
"We're taking time to find out footing again after COVID right now so we've not put too much thought into more recordings, but that's not a no.
And for 2022, Giggin"
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